Summary
The gang is back with new enemies and old baggage. It’s another hilarious installment, filled with rip-roaring dance sequences and crazy (cubed) characters. Highly entertaining, apocalyptic mayhem.
After saving the world twice, all our heroes want to do is return home for a little downtime. Unfortunately, time has been irreversibly altered, and the Umbrella Academy’s mansion has now become the Sparrow Academy. Season three introduces us to this entirely new set of seven superheroes, each with their own specific, iconic powers. The old gang must battle their much-improved counterparts and stop a possible third apocalypse from obliterating humanity.
The premiere, “Meet the Family,” quickly establishes these seven Sparrows and pits them against their distant cousins in a fun opener.
The season starts with what feels like a recap of the Umbrella Academy’s origin story but is actually the Sparrows. They’re both very similar tales. On October 1st, 1989, random women across the globe, who were very much not pregnant, all gave birth at the exact same moment.
Eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves fostered as many of these children as he could, all with their own distinct skills. This new set of seven includes tentacle-wielding Ben (from previous seasons) and a floating cube called Christopher. I mean, who gave birth to that abomination – ouch!
A fight seems to be brewing between the warring factions, but a dance-off ensues instead. Both parties groove to “Footloose” in satisfying synchronization. It’s a hilarious sequence that has Christopher the cube spraying glitter around the mansion and robotic servant Grace doing the robot.
This impromptu dance-off is revealed to be a figment of Diego’s vivid imagination, a vision that was created by Sparrow No. 6, Jayme. Her extraordinary power involves spitting a black liquid onto her prey, which then induces a nightmarish vision or fantasy. Later, she causes Five to hallucinate, where he makes out with his old mannequin lover.
Inevitably, the two opposing gangs decide to battle it out for supremacy, which works as a nice little introduction to viewers of the Sparrows and their powers. We all know Ben and Jayme’s skills by now, but let’s break down the rest of the Sparrow sibling’s abilities.
There is Marcus, whose super-strength appears to match and maybe outdo Luther’s. Fei can summon and control birds while dressed like a secondary Matrix character. Alphonso, the disfigured blob, can reverse his injuries, transferring the pain onto his enemy instead. Sloane can manipulate objects and herself to levitate. And then, finally, there’s Christopher, a purring robotic cube. During the fight, he shoots lighting at Diego, but it only seems to tickle the knife-throwing rebel.
The Sparrows seem to have the upper hand, and only the apocalyptic Vanya manages to cause any real damage. Her final seismic blast of energy knocks the newbies clean off their feet, allowing the Umbrella siblings time to escape to safety and regroup.
They’re visibly hurt by Father Reginald’s rejection and book into The Hotel Obsidian to formulate a plan. Klaus’ old haunt is an odd place, but it makes for the perfect hiding spot for our displaced superheroes. As they adjust to their new living quarters, Diego’s lover Lila drops off their twelve-year-old son Stanley before departing. The boys discuss the possibility of running into their doppelgangers.
Vanya sneaks out to make a deal with Marcus that night, with them agreeing that she won’t attack and humiliate the superhuman if he brings her the time-traveling briefcase they require. Marcus, who clearly fears Vanya’s powers, happily obliges.
However, when he enters the cellar to swipe this lost item, he finds himself drawn to an angry, red, swirling vortex of doom instead. Robotic Mom Grace is hypnotized by this monstrosity, and Marcus follows suit, deciding to touch it. This monumental faux pas causes a deadly shockwave to ripple through the local community, one that vaporizes a pug and poor Marcus, with his remnants being sucked into this horrifying black hole.
This concludes the entertaining opening episode of The Umbrella Academy, which was filled with silly sequences and more hilarious hijinks from its enthralling cast. It is a perfect setup for another season of apocalyptic mayhem.
What did you think of The Umbrella Academy Season 3, Episode 1? Comment below.
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